2023 Induction and Awards Program
Celebration of the 2023 Sport Australia Hall of Fame
This year, as well as elevating three Members to Legend status in the Hall of Fame, SAHOF welcomed seven new Inductees as they joined 594 others in Australia’s greatest sporting team, plus the winners of the 2023 The Don Award and The Dawn Award.
The SAHOF Class of 2023
Kim Brennan was seemingly always destined to scale whatever summit she tackled, but as one of Australia’s most decorated, driven and determined rowers, she found her calling. She won the full complement of Olympic medals – silver and bronze medals in London in 2012 in the women’s double sculls and in the women’s single sculls, before turning on a virtuoso performance to win gold in the women’s single sculls in Rio in 2016. Brennan was a two-time world champion who was inspirational on and off the water, with her contribution to rowing and Olympic movement extending well beyond her competitive career.
Lydia Lassila was one of Australia’s most decorated and inspirational Winter Olympic athletes, winning a gold medal and a bronze medal in a stunningly successful career. She made her Winter Games debut in 2002, suffered a near career-ending crash on a jump in Torino in 2006, rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament. Lassila returned in 2010 and delivered a spectacular jump that won her the Olympic gold medal, becoming the second Australian to win aerials gold after Alisa Camplin in 2002. She, won a bronze in 2014 before bowing out in 2018 after an uplifting career that inspired the dream in a new generation of competitors.
Cahill was one of Australian soccer’s most influential players in a career that spanned two decades as he helped to guide the Socceroos to one of their most successful eras. An attacking midfielder and striker whose trademark shadow boxing goal celebrations around the corner flag was a spectacular part of his on-field arsenal, Cahill thrived on playing for his country. His exceptional strike-rate saw him score a record 50 goals from his 108 international caps. But Cahill perfectly balanced his international representation with an outstanding and prolific club career that saw him play the sport in different leagues across four continents.
McLaren’s commitment to rowing across more than 40 years – both as a competitor and as a coach and educator – stamped him as one of the sport’s most influential contributors. His impact on and off the water was significant, both in Australia and internationally. As coach of the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) Rowing Club, he mentored a wave of Australian representatives and Olympians, including the double sculls gold-medal winning team at the 1992 Barcelona Games. McLaren’s influence wasn’t solely confined to Australia. His impact included taking his wealth of knowledge and experience to various parts of the world.
Thurston was one of Australian rugby league’s greatest players in a glittering career which saw him dominate at state, national and international levels. He was an inspirational player who consistently elevated his team and inspired the fans, as well as being a role model for the Indigenous community. He played in two NRL premierships – the first in Canterbury’s 2004 win over the Roosters; the second as the hero of North Queensland’s maiden success in the 2015 grand final. In that time, he won four Dally M. Thurston was a Queensland State-of-Origin legend, playing 37 matches between 2005-17, including a record 36 in a row
A three-time Paralympic gold medallist, four time World Champion and dual Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Kurt Fearnley was one of the most resilient and respected athletes Australia has produced. In a stellar career spanning more than two decades, Fearnley won more than 40 marathons as a wheelchair athlete, including the major events. Just as significantly, his numerous achievements on and off the track were an inspiration to people of all abilities and he provided a voice to many Australians who had often gone unheard. Fearnley won the Don Award after his emotiaonal gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Nova Peris was a trailblazer in representative sport and an inspiration for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community – and all Australians – as she reached for the stars in a remarkable career. She was the first Aboriginal Australian to win an Olympic gold medal as part of the Hockeyroos’ successful 1996 campaign in Atlanta. She then boldly looked to take on another sport 12 months later when she embarked on an athletic career in an attempt to qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She represented her country at two Olympic Games, four World Championships, three Champion’s Trophies and a Commonwealth Games.
2023 Legends of Australian Sport
Robert John “Bob” Skilton earned widespread respect across the VFL for his talent, leadership and sportsmanship during a stellar career representing South Melbourne.
A highly skilled rover who excelled from the midfield through to the forward line, Skilton was an exemplary kicker with superb evasive skills, which made him a favourite of fans.
The diminutive Skilton, who stood 171cm, was highly courageous despite his stature and earned significant respect for his attack on the ball.
His excellence and sportsmanship is highlighted by the Brownlow Medals he claimed in 1959, 1963 and 1968 as the VFL competition’s best-and-fairest player.
Skilton, who grew up in Port Melbourne, is among a select group of players to win the Brownlow Medal three times and rates among the best footballers to play the game.
Beachley was one of surfing’s most successful and fierce competitors in a career spanning two decades, with her impact on and off the water forever shaping her sport.
Her dominance saw her win seven world championships, including a record six in a row, as she towered over the sport and inspired other young women to take to the waves.
Beachley turned professional at a young age, and while she initially took some time to find her feet, she was ranked sixth in the world at 20.
In 1996 she stamped her potential with a number of impressive tour victories, then two years later, in 1998, she won the first of her world championships off the back of hard work, determination and grit.
Incredibly, it was the first of six consecutive titles (1998-2003). A seventh – and final – world title would follow in 2006.
Ella’s brief but spectacular career as one of the Wallabies’ greatest five-eighth playmakers stamped him as one of the code’s most significant figures. One of a trio of Indigenous brothers to represent their country.
In 1979 Ella competed for Australia for the first time on the Wallabies’ tour to Argentina before making his Test debut in 1980 in Sydney against New Zealand, kicking a field goal to help Australia to a 13-9 win.
He represented Australia in 25 tests between 1980 and 1984, becoming the captain in 1982 on a tour of New Zealand. In 1983 he captained Australia on a tour of Italy and France, and in home Tests against the USA, Argentina and New Zealand.
In his final Test season, the Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland, Ella scored a try in each of the four Test matches against England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales – a feat never performed before by a touring player.
2023 SAHOF Awards
2000 Sydney Olympic Women’s Water Polo Team
The Dawn Award Winner
In being bestowed upon the Australian Women’s Water Polo Team for their historic victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, The Dawn Award for 2023 absolutely epitomises recognition for achievement against the odds and upending the status quo. The Award salutes the culmination of a 20-year struggle to have women’s water polo included in the Olympics and the team’s unbending fight for acceptance and equality, which was as significant as the inaugural gold medal they won.
For years, Australia had advocated for women’s water polo to be included as an Olympic sport along with the men, who were in the Games from 1900. Undeterred by rejection in the lead-up to the 1984, 1992 and 1996 Olympics, the players and officials were relentless, protesting, meeting with International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials, and campaigning tirelessly to gain the recognition they deserved.
When Juan Antonio Samaranch announced in 1993 that Sydney would host the 2000 Games, FINA, the world swimming body, committed to introducing women’s water polo, before reneging on its pledge. The fight resumed – and this time the Aussie women refused to take no for an answer.
In October 1997, it was confirmed that women’s water polo would be included in the Sydney 2000 Olympics. It was fitting that this Australian team, the spearhead for the inclusion of women’s water polo in the Summer Games, won that first gold medal. Without their courage and commitment, building on the groundwork of the pioneers before them, it might never have become an Olympic sport.
Photo Courtesy: News Corp
FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 Matildas
The Don Award Winner
The CommBank Matildas earned The Don Award for their remarkable performance in becoming the first Australian team to make a senior FIFA World Cup – men’s or women’s – semi-final. The CommBank Matildas caused a seismic sporting shift: transforming women’s football, uniting the country, inspiring the next generation of hopefuls, and further elevating women’s sport with a long-deserved national profile. What the CommBank Matildas achieved in the lead-up to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™, and the tournament proper, was ground-breaking. They smashed numerous records along the way, drawing extraordinary crowds to their games: nearly two million spectators at stadiums and hundreds of thousands at live sites across the country. On TV broadcast, their semi-final against England was the highest rating program in Australia since the current television ratings system began in 2001.
The “Tillies”, as we called them, rode a huge wave of support to become our most talked-about and loved national team. It was fitting that Australia & New Zealand’s joint bid for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup had the slogan “As One”, for the CommBank Matildas united the nation in our consciousness and our hearts as star names like Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Mackenzie Arnold, Mary Fowler and Cortnee Vine became instantly recognisable.
The CommBank Matildas remarkable FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign gave heart to a generation of young girls and boys to start chasing their own dreams. Their FIFA World Cup campaign was a breakthrough not only for women in sport but for Australian sport in general, and their legacy is beyond dispute.
Photo Courtesy: Kyoko Kurihara/Football Australia